Ontario Nurses' Association Members Celebrate Solidarity
TORONTO, Sept. 3 /CNW/ - Registered nurses, their families and friends will participate in Labour Day parades in many Ontario cities this weekend.
In Toronto, ONA nurses and allied health professionals will join the annual parade that runs down University Avenue, along Queen Street West and through the Dufferin Gates into the Canadian National Exhibition. ONA members will also join Labour Day celebrations in Barrie, Chatham and other locatons.
"Labour Day and its messages of solidarity have never been more relevant," says ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN. "RNs are being targeted by the government for wage freezes and by their employers for job cuts. Yet in a recent poll, the majority of Ontarians asked say they fear that wages freezes will lead to longer ER wait times, longer wait times for elective surgeries and a worsening of the existing nursing shortage."
In Ontario, more than 2,400 RN positions have been cut in the past 18 months; contracts for hospital RNs expire in March 2011, and the province has asked ONA members for a multi-year wage freeze.
"RNs and allied health professionals are dedicated to advocating for their patients," notes Haslam-Stroud. "Our nurses have been the scapegoats as hospital funding has failed to keep up with inflation, but our patients are ultimately paying for hospital cuts - with a decline in the quality of care they receive. As we celebrate Labour Day, we all must remember to speak out in support of the skilled and experienced RNs and other front-line caregivers who struggle each and every day to provide health care to Ontarians."
ONA is the union representing 55,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals, as well as more than 12,000 nursing student affiliates providing care in Ontario hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community and industry.
For further information:
Ontario Nurses' Association | |
Sheree Bond | (416) 986-8240, ext. 2430; cell: (416) 986-8240 |
Melanie Levenson | (419) 986-8240, ext. 2369 |
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